


The World is my Stage

by GhostOfAFern



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Akechi Goro Has A Palace, Akechi Goro Redemption, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Police Brutality, Suicide Notes, Theres Shuake elements but its not a huge focus, might add warnings as i write
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:07:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23726569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GhostOfAFern/pseuds/GhostOfAFern
Summary: Akira wasn’t quite sure what had overtaken him. He wanted the answer he already knew. Slouched over his phone, the meta-nav open, awaiting keywords, his voice couldn’t choke out the words.Sure, it made total sense for him to have one. His whole worldview was distorted, not just his desires. He should frankly be more surprised if he didn’t have one. But this was a different case.Goro Akechi had a persona. Akira had witnessed Robin Hood manifest before his own eyes. That much was absolutely undeniable. And yet, he found himself still, desperate to be told an impossible truth.He found himself desperate to save Akechi.
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira
Comments: 11
Kudos: 193





	1. Keywords

Akira wasn’t quite sure what had overtaken him. He wanted the answer he already knew. Slouched over his phone, the meta-nav open, awaiting keywords, his voice couldn’t choke out the words.

Sure, it made total sense for him to have one. His whole worldview was distorted, not just his desires. He should frankly be more surprised if he didn’t have one. But this was a different case.

Goro Akechi had a persona. Akira had witnessed Robin Hood manifest before his own eyes. That much was absolutely undeniable. And yet, he found himself still, desperate to be told an impossible truth.

He glanced around his room, as if afraid to be caught in the act. Nobody was around. Something in him felt viscerally dirty in speaking his name into the nav. Akechi was somebody he considered a friend, a rival. He and Akechi had grown close over the semester, before their paths had violently split in two opposite directions.

Even so, his potential palace discovery wouldn’t result in an infiltration based on spite and malice. No, Akira truly wanted to save Akechi. From himself, from Shido. The boy he’d come to know well, as one who saw many houses and never a home. One who had only ever felt superficial love. One so desperate to be needed that he fell prey to those who would manipulate him without thinking twice.

Akira wanted to pull Akechi out of the madness he’d sunken into all those years ago. But, with how he distanced himself in reality, plunging straight into his heart seemed like the only reliable option open to him.

Enough hesitation. It’s now or never.

“Goro Akechi”

Akira swallowed hard as the app processed the keyword.

_ “Candidate found.” _

His heart sank into his chest, and he felt cold. Did he want this to be the answer? Had a piece of him truly hoped he wouldn’t have to face the manifested form of Akechi’s pain? Or had he simply felt deep in his heart that Morgana’s words were possibly true? That a persona user couldn’t possibly have a palace. 

He knew the palace existed, but what were his keywords? What places did Akechi frequent?

He tried a few different things off the top of his head. His school, the courthouse, every government building Akira could think of, Akechi’s apartment. No dice. Nothing was a hit.

He’d hoped, knowing Akechi as well as he did, he would have a better idea of where his distortion was focused. He could guess adult strangers he’d only briefly met, but not his own friend?

Then, all at once, a realization struck.

He said it himself. Akechi’s  _ entire world _ was distorted, not just his desires. Not just  _ once place.  _

“All of Tokyo.”

A beat of silence.

_ “Candidate found.” _

He sighed deeply. This wouldn’t be an easy one. Kaneshiro at least viewed himself as hovering over Shibuya, localizing the palace, but Akechi’s palace had the potential to be  _ much  _ larger. 

He’d hit all but one key word. All that was left was the  _ what  _ of the meta-nav’s ‘who, what, where.’

After a moment of careful consideration, he pocketed his phone. He should call the rest of the thieves before making any decisions.

“Alright, that’s everyone here.” Ryuji noted as Yusuke sat down at the table with the others.

“What’d you call us here about, Akira?” Ann asked.

His eyes were glued to the table. He’d never felt nervous about approaching his team with a possible target before. But...everyone here knew Akechi personally, to some extent. They’d all fought by his side, and none of them wanted to believe in his betrayal even when listening to his own voice spell out the plan. 

Nobody wanted to distrust him.

“I found something out recently. A potential target.”

The thieves’ faces lit up.

“For real?!” Ryuji exclaimed.

“Hold on, we haven’t even finished changing sis’ heart yet.” Makoto pointed out.

“That’s true, Mako-chan, but we’ve already secured a route to the treasure in the first few days, and we won’t be able to send the calling card until the twentieth.” Haru added in.

“So we still have seventeen days until we can change her heart.” Yusuke summarized.

“Hey...don’t we have our hands full with Akechi-kun, though?” Ann asked.

“About that.” Akira finally started.

He held out his phone to the other thieves. The listed keywords were clear.

_ Goro Akechi, All of Tokyo, [???] _

They all stared at the phone’s screen with varying degrees of shock, disbelief, confusion. Morgana had begun stuttering dumbfoundedly. 

“But that’s...we saw...he’s a persona...but he’s…?!” He meowed desperately trying to make sense of the situation.

“I know it’s a short amount of time to get through a palace, especially considering the potential size of the palace.” Akira looked up with a serious expression. “But if we can change his heart, if we can save him, then maybe,” he looked over at Futaba, the one most involved with their plan. “Maybe we won’t have to do this…deceptive plan. Maybe he really  _ will _ become one of us.” He swallowed down the emotion building up in his voice, eyes darting between worried thieves.

“Well…” Futaba started. “Considering there’s a small chance our plan could fail...considering there is that risk…” her voice was a bit shaky, and her eyes were glued to the floor. “I think it’d be nice to have a backup plan.” She looked up at Akira. “I don’t want anything to happen to you! So if you think this can work...then I’ll do whatever I can to help!”

“You’re our leader. I trust your judgement on this.” Makoto conceded.

“If we have you to lead us, I’m sure we can do it!” Haru cheered.

They went around with small encouragements and agreements. A smile crept onto Akira’s face, as a hopeful feeling swelled inside his chest. His friends were behind him, and that was all he needed. He knew they could do this. Together.

One keyword remained. He needed to figure it out as quickly as possible. There wasn’t much time before Akechi enacted his plan, and the thieves would have to jump through hoops and rely on luck, for the most part, to save Akira’s life.

He started with a few places he associated with Akechi. He tried both of the cafe’s Akechi frequented. Akechi was always thinking about work, so he tried naming off the places he went for school and work. Still nothing. 

“Try ‘TV Studio!’” Morgana shouted. Still nothing.

Akira thought about the more specific things he knew about Akechi. He considered how Akechi told him about how his mother would send him off to the bathhouse when he was young. 

“Bathhouse.” Still nothing.

He thought about how Akechi was sent between countless foster homes as a child.

“Foster care agency.” Nothing.

“Come on! Don’t give up! What else do you know about Akechi?” Morgana shouted.

Akira remembered how Akechi mentioned that cafes were the only places he felt he could truly unwind. He felt like he could just relax and... _ be himself. _

“I already tried ‘TV studio’...” He mumbled.

Then it hit him. He needed to be thinking like Akechi. He was  _ far more  _ theatrical than to view putting on an act for the world as a TV studio.

“Theater stage.” Akira said with confidence.

_ “Candidate found.”  _ The nav spoke in response.

“You got it!” Morgana shouted, jumping to his feet.

_ “Beginning navigation…”  _


	2. The First Act

No distortion was clear immediately. The area around them still looked exactly like Leblanc.

“The only place he feels he can be himself.” Akira reasoned quietly.

“So you think the distortion will be visible if we go outside?” Mona asked, now visibly in his meta-verse form.

“Well, looking at you? We’re definitely in the palace...I’d say we should look around, but we shouldn’t go too far without the others.”

Mona nodded, and they made their way downstairs. 

“Come on, let’s make haste before—“ Mona fell silent as he reached the dining area of Leblanc. 

Joker hummed in confusion as he caught up. The clarity of the cause for his shock was immediate. 

Standing behind the counter, was a cognitive double of Akira. The double’s outfit seemed to be a strange mixture of his phantom thief clothes, and his cafe uniform. Black leather clothes with a red apron draped over his body.

After a moment staring in confusion, the cognitive Akira took notice of them.

“Oh.” He said with a surprising lack of emotion. “You’re here.” He faced back to the counter, but didn’t continue his work. “He was wondering if you were going to come. Was starting to worry you wouldn’t.”

“He?” Joker asked flatly.

“Akechi-kun.” He began fumbling with some dishes. “He hasn’t been here in a while, you know. I was beginning to worry you wouldn’t come.” 

“He was worried we weren’t coming?” Akira nodded back at him. “He told you this?”

“Of course not.” Cognitive Akira snarked. “I can just tell by looking at him.” 

Joker faltered for a moment. This version of himself was the way Akechi viewed him. He knew he shouldn’t dwell on it, but any normal person would be curious. He was just glad his cognitive double wasn’t a corpse with a bullet through his head.

“You’re safe here. As long as you are in this cafe, the shadows can’t hurt you. You’re welcome to come back if you are seeking asylum.”

Joker nodded and continued out the door, Mona hopping along behind him. The bell atop the door rang lightly as they dashed outside.

The distortion was immediately visible. Where Joker had expected to see the backstreets of Yogen-Jaya, instead he saw a mess of askew buildings, red carpets replacing roads, velvet ropes instead of fencing, and curtains draped every which way.

Mona stared in awe at the deep red and purple cosmos in the sky. Stars flickered in and out of existence every few seconds. There were absolutely no clouds, only unaligned catwalks and blinding stage lights. 

Without a word, Joker continued forward. Mona caught up behind him.

The cognitive humans in his palace snapped their attention towards the thieves as they walked by. Their chatter was halted as they stared unblinking, expressionless, judgmentally. Their faces were uncanny, lacking any distinct characteristics, unrecognizable as any specific person.

“What’s our plan, Joker?” Mona asked quietly.

“Follow the carpet. Find the star of the show.” He replied matter-of-factly. Mona nodded.

Their search didn’t end up lasting long, as asking around for the star’s location provided them a few vacant points from the cognitive people, and a large crowd gathered around a spotlight’s trajectory made Akechi’s presence no secret.

The crowd was completely still and silent, save for a few gaps and light reactions. The most notable thing Joker could hear was a distinct voice that definitely belonged to Akechi.

Mona hopped onto Joker’s shoulders as they weaved their way through the crowd, not shying away from light shoves if that’s what it took to get through. 

The act itself was a spectacle to be sure. Akechi donned a mask expressing a contorted smile. It had some features the mask he wore as “Crow” had. The nose pointed outward, the edges curved and pointed, though it also had features Crow’s mask lacked. The smiling expression most prominently, not to mention it covered more of his face, cutting off just above his mouth, and covering most of his cheeks. 

He was wearing a stunning outfit, a red gold and white glittery suit, with what appeared to be real gold buttons, and a shimmering golden crown perched atop his head. Joker was awestruck at  _ the detective prince  _ taking on new meaning. 

Akechi performed his heart to shreds, his voice shaking with the emotion he was attempting to portray, hands trembling with each exaggerated movement. It was hard to tear your eyes away.

Before Joker could snap out of his awe, the crowd began applauding and a curtain descended around the section of land he had been performing in.

“Joker!” Mona shouted while pawing at his face. Joker snapped back to awareness and rolled beneath the curtain before it had fully closed.

The moment the curtain made contact with the ground, Akechi collapsed to the ground, his whole body visibly trembling, dragging his fingers into the floor so hard his knuckles went white beneath his gloves.

Joker darted over to him, kneeling and gingerly, cautiously, putting a hand onto his shoulder. As Akechi turned toward him, desperation in his breath, Joker carefully lifted the grinning mask off of Akechi’s face. 

He got a good look at his face. Akechi looked...younger? Maybe a few years younger than he was in reality. He was crying, tears streaming down his face, pooled inside of the mask.  _ How long had he been crying?  _ Any err reading of confidence had vanished from him in an instant. 

“Why...are you here?” He choked out, voice still shaking.

“I’m here to help you.” Joker wiped a tear off of Akechi’s cheek. “I don’t want you hurting anymore...but I need your help.” He explained. Akechi immediately began violently sobbing.

“Y-you, you ca-can’t…” He sputtered. “N-n-obody...wants-” He broke into a fit of involuntary gasping, before resuming his sobbing once again.

“Akechi-kun.” Akira placed his hand on Akechi’s chin, turning his head so their eyes would meet. “Can you tell me where your treasure is?” 

Akechi stared blankly at him. No hint of recognition, but neither of confusion. He just stared back at him with tears streaming down his face like waterfalls.

“Why do you want-t-t-o take my…” Akechi backed up slightly from Joker, gripping his mask tightly.

“Without your treasure, I can’t help you. I promise, if you tell me where the treasure is I can help. I swear on it.” 

Akechi glanced up to one of the catwalks. A bald man with orange glasses and a black suit motioned to him, before walking off.

“The director.” Akechi explained before Joker could even ask. “It’s time for a-an encore.” He raised his mask, but didn’t put it back on his face. “I wanna do the curtain call,” He said silently, with almost no emotion on his face. “I wanna be Goro. I don’t wanna be the prince anymore.” He sobbed while putting the mask on his face. 

He stood up, regally, as though he hadn’t been sobbing into Joker’s arms mere seconds ago. He glanced back at Joker with disdain in his posture.

“I’m going to have to ask you to leave. Guests aren’t allowed backstage.” His voice was smooth and he spoke calmly, not a hint of the breakdown prior. Joker’s clothes engulfed in a light blue flame, changing to his thief clothes. Akechi now viewed him has a threat.

“Akechi…”

“I don’t want to have to ask you again. Don’t make me call security.” 

Joker stayed silent for a moment, staring in disbelief...and turned to leave.

“A theatre stage…” Yusuke parroted. “I suppose it’s a fitting setting for someone who’s life is filled with naught but deceit.” 

“Still, that’s a pretty weird response to a threat to his treasure, right?” Futaba noted. “So far every shadow has just been dead set on keeping us away from it. He didn’t seem too protective of it…” 

“That is...every shadow except yours, Futaba-chan.” Makoto pointed out.

“Oh, right! Futaba’s shadow was fine with us taking the treasure, but the palace itself kept trying to keep us away.” Ann recalled. “Do you think Akechi-kun’s might be the same?”

“Uh, we won’t know for sure until we go in, right?” Ryuji pointed out. “Why don’t we all just go in today? We do kinda have a deadline.”

The team looked towards Akira for his approval. He sighed gently, and pulled out his phone.

“Let’s not hesitate, then.” He paused before hitting the button. “I want you all to be less aggressive with him than you are with other shadows…” He looked down to his feet. “Can you do that for me?”

The group exchanged a few confused glances before nodding in agreement. Akira smiled, and as the group huddled together, pressed the navigation button.

“Welcome back.” Cognitive Akira greeted. “I see you brought your friends this time.”

The thieves exchanged shared moments of confusion, surprise, disbelief, and looked to Joker for answers.

“Akechi views this cafe as a place he can relax and be himself. There isn’t any distortion here.” He glanced back. “That’s his cognitive version of me.” Akira waved at them half-heartedly, and returned to brewing coffee.

“Is...there a reason you’ve brewed what seems to be more than 50 cups of coffee?” Makoto asked, dumbfounded, peeking over the counter at a gigantic collection of cold cups of coffee.

“It’s the brew  _ he _ likes. But...he hasn’t showed up in a while.” Cognitive Akira slid another finished cup with the others. “I keep brewing it in case he shows up again.” There was a hint of sorrow on his face as he prepared the ingredients for another cup.

“This is the only safe room we’ve found so far.” Mona explained. “Joker thinks the other cafe Akechi goes to might be a safe room, but the layout of the city is so twisted up that we wouldn’t even know where to find it.” He looked down and sighed. “Regardless, do as we always do and keep your eyes peeled for weaknesses in cognition.” 

Joker eyed the cups on the counter. He recognized the brew. It was the one Akechi ordered every time he came to Leblanc. Akechi would always add extra sweetener, until Akira took notice and began sweetening it for him. He had offered a sincere look when he first noticed.

“Joker,” Mona piped up. Right, he’s Joker right now, not Akira. “We’re awaiting your orders!” He bowed slightly toward him. Joker nodded, and headed out the door.

Despite having been here less than 24 hours ago, Joker found it just as aweing as it was before. Seeing the dull backstreets with red carpet and gold trim, and the  _ sky... _ He shook out of his stupor and continued onward, motioning for his teammates to follow. They walked along absent-mindedly, taking in the scenery.

“We aren’t in much danger out here. We might be when we get closer to him, though.” He explained.

“Hey, Joker?” Skull started. “How come you’re the only one in your thief clothes?” There was a beat of silence.

“Akechi knows I’m here. He saw me last night.” He looked to the sky as he spoke. “He didn’t view me as a threat at first. He seemed surprised I was even here…but I mentioned his treasure and…”

The group was completely quiet as they walked. Oracle navigated using not only the carpet, but the direction of the spotlights to find their way to the palace ruler. Mona stayed close to Joker, the only one who was present the previous night, knowing this wasn’t going to be their typical infiltration

“Joker! Look!” Oracle ran forward around a corner. The group hustled after her. The cause of her intrigue was clear. Akechi was performing on a stage with an enormous crowd, miles ahead of the one they had seen the night before.

“Woah! It’s...huge!” Mona exclaimed. “What in the world?!”

“Was it not like this before?” Panther asked.

“Not even close! It was way smaller!”

“Perhaps a change in cognition? Or a response to our presence?” Fox offered.

“If it was in response to us, we’d be in our thief clothes, wouldn’t we?” Noir pointed out.

“I think I know what it could be.” Queen chimed in. “Sis mentioned Akechi-kun having a shoot tonight. She was just venting but…” The group was silent in understanding.

“So in other words…” Mona began. “Akechi definitely feels like he’s having to act as a character for a much larger group tonight.” 

Joker began approaching. 

“Joker! Are you sure-” He snapped his head back. 

“Just keep quiet and follow my lead.” Well...now wasn’t the time to start doubting their leader.

Joker walked up to the side of the stage. He didn’t walk up the stairs, nor did he say anything, but he was close enough that Akechi could see him. They locked eyes for a brief moment, panic flashing subtley in his eyes, but quickly dismissed. 

Joker turned to his team. 

“That should do it. He knows we’re here. Let’s wait for the show to be over.”

They didn’t need to wait long. The curtain fell in no time, and Joker jumped over the apron of the stage and slid beneath it before it closed. His team fumbled to follow, some not quite making it under in time and getting caught in the drape.

Akechi was kneeling on the floor, back turned to them. He was trembling once again, breathing heavily.

“Why…” His voice growled. “Why the  _ hell _ did you come  _ back?!”  _ He spoke with a hideous blend of both fury and terror. 

“I made you a promise.” Joker acknowledged. “And I brought some friends this time too. Is that gonna be a problem?” He didn’t speak in a tone that was threatening or comforting. His voice was flat and matter-of-fact.

Akechi’s head snapped to the side, viewing the whole team of thieves before him. Their clothes burned into their thief outfits almost instantly. 

“Who authorized you to-” He began coughing, Joker swearing he could hear blood pooled in the back of his throat. “You aren’t supposed to be here.” He stumbled to his feet, knees shaking as he regained his balance.

Akechi instinctively looked up to the catwalk. Again, the bald man made a motion to him before walking off. Joker growled and aimed his gun towards the man.  _ Something in him felt such a burning rage at his sight. He couldn’t place why.  _ Akechi tackled him, Joker’s gun sliding across the stage. 

The phantom thieves rushed to pull Akechi off of him, helping Joker to his feet. Akechi kicked and growled at them.

“The hell do you think you’re doing!?” He screamed at Joker. “That bastard’s mine, you hear me! Don’t you take that from me!” His face was stained with angry tears, and he thrashed at the hold Skull and Fox had on him. 

“Goddamnit! Don’t you want him to let you stop?!” Joker shouted, overcome by frustration.

“You don’t understand! Of course you wouldn’t understand! You’ll never understand!” Akechi practically screamed, summoning two shadows in the process.

“Skull! Behind you!” Oracle warned.

“Woah! Shit!” Skull’s grip loosened enough to fight his way out of Fox’s hold, and he ran into the stage wings.

“See you after the intermission.” Akechi said calmly, a grin forming across his face.


	3. The Finale

Joker carefully applied the healing patch to Skull’s forearm. He flinched as Joker pressed it onto the wound.

“Are you alright? Can you move it okay?” Joker asked, prompting Skull to test his arm. He bent it fine, though he was a bit strained. “We can go back if you need to.”

“Nah, I’m gonna be fine...just...give me a bit…” Joker nodded and backed away.

“What did he mean back there? When you threatened this “director,” he seemed quite upset.” Noir mentioned.

“Yeah, come to think of it, he was acting like you were taking his kill? Am I looking into it too much?” Skull asked.

“No, I noticed that too…” Panther assured.

“Do you guys think…” Oracle began. “Do you think maybe that’s this  _ Shido  _ guy?”

The group exchanged glances.

“It could very well be. Shido’s the one pulling the strings behind the mental shutdowns, it would make sense for him to be the stage director of Akechi-kun’s life.” Queen deducted.

“Not to mention, Akechi mentioned yesterday night he wanted to stop, but this  _ director _ forced him to continue. Right, Joker?” Mona thought aloud. Joker nodded.

“But then why is he trying to keep us away? Why not just let us take the treasure?” Panther groaned.

“It’s a palace ruler’s nature to protect their treasure.” Mona explained. “Not to mention, if he really believes his whole life to be an act, he might just instinctively try to keep everyone away...even those who try to help him.”

“Ah! Much like Oracle’s palace!” Yusuke exclaimed. Mona nodded in affirmation. 

“Still...Oracle seemed to be doing it subconsciously, even though she wanted to let us in. Akechi-kun is deliberately keeping us away.” Queen noted.

“Do we even have any idea where the treasure could possibly be?” Skull asked.

The entire group fell silent. Eyes were scattered between Oracle, Joker, and Mona.

“I have no idea.” Joker stated calmly.

“I haven’t sensed it at all.” Mona sighed.

“This palace’s layout is totally wack! I feel like it keeps...changing.” Oracle explained nervously.

“And we only have sixteen days to steal it.” Yusuke added.

A sorrow fell over the group. The situation was beginning to look hopeless. They so badly wanted to change Akechi’s heart, but time was running out, and they had no idea where to start.

“I might know where the treasure is.” Cognitive Akira said flatly.

“What?! Why didn’t you say something sooner?” Skull growled.

“I didn’t want to interrupt your deliberation.” Akira shrugged. “I don’t know for sure, but…” He looked at his shoes. “I think you might have to take it directly from him.”

“Directly from him?” Queen parroted. “Are you saying he has it on him?”

“It’s possible. I wouldn’t know for sure, I just know last he was here he mentioned his “lucky charm” he wears while performing...or something along those lines.”

“Damnit! So we have to go fight him directly?!” Skull worried.

“We’ve had to fight everyone’s shadows, Skull.” Panther pointed out.

“But...I should’ve sensed the treasure if that was the case…” Mona pondered.

“Like I said, it’s just a hunch.” Cognitive Akira had leaned back against the wall, and was picking at the edges of his nails. Joker always did that when he was nervous.  _ Did Akechi pay attention to that? _

“It would explain why he was so defensive about us being near him.” Noir thought.

“Joker!” Mona jumped to his feet. “Didn’t Akechi force you away from him after you mentioned the treasure?!” Joker’s eyes widened.

“So...does that mean…?”

The group conceded. They were going to have to take the treasure directly from Akechi.

“How do we do that, though? Don’t we have to send a calling card too?” Panther questioned.

That was true. They were going to have to manage to secure a route to a constantly moving treasure, and send a calling card who knew  _ exactly  _ who it was coming from, all without raising suspicion. Joker felt hot under the stress.

“Akira.” Joker said, turning to his double. “When was the last time you saw Akechi?”

“A mission to Mementos? Today?” Akechi questioned.

“Sorry it’s so short notice.” Akira apologized. “But...there’s a really urgent target we discovered recently.” That much wasn’t a lie.

“Well…” Akechi thought silently for a moment. “If I’m to prove my worth as a team member, I suppose I should show up for a mission. I can clear my schedule, but I may be a bit late.”

“Sounds good. See you soon.” Akira hung up before the tension in his chest reached his throat. He was going to need to calm down if this plan was going to work. Akechi couldn’t suspect anything, or he was done for.

He wasn’t waiting more than twenty minutes before Akechi walked into Leblanc. 

“Oh.” He said surprised. “Where are the others?”

“They’re not coming. It’s just us today.” Akira said as monotonous as he could muster.

“Just...us? Why in the world are we…” He paused. “Well, you are the leader. I won’t doubt your judgement. Let us depart.”

“Actually.” Akira stopped. “Before we go, I’m going to brew up some coffee, make sure I have enough energy. I can make you one as well...if you’d like.”

“You know…” Akechi smiled at him. “It’s been a while since I relaxed with some coffee. It seems with my recent popularity I’ve barely had a rest.”  _ Bingo. _

“Rest is important, you know.”

“Of course, but I have a duty to uphold justice. If that means pushing myself...then so be it.”

Akira collected the ingredients for Akechi’s favorite brew. He even took the sweetener out in advance.

“I suppose I should thank you for the excuse to clear my schedule for the day, though.” Akechi laughed. “They don’t usually call me in if I leave early. I might have the night off, depending on how long this mission takes.” Akechi winked at him.  _ Jackpot. The plan was working wonders. _

Akira slid the cup to Akechi. He sipped it, cautious of potential bitterness, and was surprised to find it was exactly how he liked it.

“You remembered-”

“Of course I did. You’re my friend.” Akira sipped his own cup. A smile spread across Akechi’s face. It felt genuine, but Akira couldn’t be sure anymore.

After the two finished their drinks, Akechi stood and readied his phone, opening the meta-nav. 

“Shall we?” He asked. Akira’s eyes fell to the floor.

“Actually. Forget it. The mission can wait. Why don’t you just take tonight for yourself?” Akira offered.

“Akira, didn’t you say it was urgent? I’m not-”

“You’re more urgent right now, okay? I’m worried about your mental health. You’re gonna burn out if you keep going like this.” He wasn’t lying.

“I...I shouldn’t.” Akechi stared down at the nav on his phone.

“Akechi.” Akira put his hand on the other boy’s shoulder. “You’ve worked hard enough. Just take a break. For one night.” 

Akechi hesitated. He smiled genuinely, nodded, and walked out of Leblanc, walking without purpose for the first time in a long while. Akira’s eyes stayed locked on him, still staring at the door long after he was out of sight. He pulled up the message app on his phone.

“We’re in.”

“Welcome back.” Cognitive Akira smiled at them, before turning his attention to an empty mug on the counter. “He came in today.”

The thieves smiled hopefully at each other.

“Joker! You did it!” Panther cheered.

“Let’s save the celebration for when we have the treasure.” Joker cautioned. “Mona, did you take care of the calling card?”

“Barely.” He sighed. “Hopefully he noticed it after he left.”

“What are we waiting for then?” Skull exclaimed.

“Right. Let’s go.” Joker dashed out the door, his team following close behind.

Cognitive Akira smiled as they left. He looked back at the empty mug, sitting untouched on the counter.

“Good luck you guys.”

It was odd for Akechi to be home this early, even before his popularity peaked. He couldn’t say he didn’t like it, though. His apartment was quiet, and, taking Akira’s advice, he had a chance to not think about work for once.

He smiled, pulled out his phone, and sent a message to Akira.

_ Thanks for the coffee today. I really needed that. Please do invite me again if you feel up to it. _

He sighed, placed his briefcase beside the door, and sat on his bed. 

_ Crunch. _

His eyes widened. What did he just sit on? He prodded at his back pockets, finding a, now crumpled, postcard-sized note. His heart sank as he laid eyes on it.

Black and red, reading beneath a logo of a mask and hat,  _ ‘Take your heart.’ _

_ What? How did… _

He flipped it over, and surely enough, a custom made letter to  _ him. _ This was no mistake.

_ Goro Akechi,  _ it began,  _ we know your plans, and we know of your limitless deceit. Thus, we have decided to take the appropriate action and steal away your desires. By the time you read this, we will already be nearly finished doing so. You will confess your crimes with your own mouth. Be prepared.  _

_ From, the Phantom Thieves _

Akechi’s hands were shaking. He wasn’t sure if it was in fear, anger, or excitement. How had they figured out his plan? Had Futaba bugged his phone in the few seconds she was holding it? No...that couldn’t be possible.

Furiously, he stuffed the card into his back pocket, and pulled out his phone. 

_ This was going to be interesting. _

“Excuse me.” Joker put his hand on a cognitive human’s shoulder. “Do you know where tonight’s shows are being held?”

“Oh! What fun costumes, you must be actors.” She cheered.

“Just answer the damn question!” Skull shouted.

“Don’t you know? There’s no shows tonight! The star didn’t show, unfortunately. What a pain.”

Perfect. The plan had worked. Now all they had to do was track down Akechi.

“Let’s get going.” Joker motioned. “Oracle, if you find any reading that looks like it might be him, let us know. Mona, keep notice for the treasure.”

Oracle furiously tapped away at her screens, searching for any sort of reading.

“I can sense it this way!” Mona shouted, breaking off from the group and heading left. They were quick to follow. “Wait…” Mona stopped. “It’s gone…” Oracle nodded.

“There was a weak reading here, but it’s completely gone now.”

“It seems we might have more trouble locating him than we thought.” Fox sighed.

“Wait a second…” Oracle leaned in attentatively. “There’s a  _ CRAZY  _ weird reading back at Leblanc!”

“Should we go investigate it, Joker?” Queen asked.

“Of course, let’s go!” 

“Well, that was easier than expected.” Akechi sighed, pocketing his phone.

“Welcome ba-” Cognitive Akira’s voice caught in his throat, and he stared in complete awe.

“Oh. I don’t imagine you’re the real one, are you?” Akechi offered. Cognitive Akira stayed completely silent. “Right. Any idea where the others went?” He asked in an accusatory tone.

Cognitive Akira cleared his throat, and motioned to the door.

“Right. Goodbye then.”

Akechi looked down, confirming he was wearing his red and white outfit rather than his black one, and walked out of the cafe.

“Are we close, Oracle?” 

“Almost there!”

The group were hurried to catch up to the reading before it disappeared, leaving them with no idea where to go next.

They were stopped dead in their tracks when, rather than reaching Akechi, he had reached them. But it wasn’t Akechi’s shadow. The real Akechi was standing in front of them, arms crossed, face in a scowl.

“That’s the weird reading!” Oracle nervously exclaimed.

“What a peculiar encounter.” He shook his head. “I wasn’t aware that a persona user could have a palace.”

“Neither were we.” Joker responded.

“Hmph.” Crow laughed. “Did you really think I wouldn’t follow after you after receiving a calling card? Or did you really think you could finish off a shadow in the few minutes it took me to figure out the keywords?” Crow’s polite demeanor had given way to a calm threat, his eyes were narrowed, and he spoke without any hesitation.

“Don’t try to stop us.” Joker demanded.

“And who said I’m here to stop you?” Crow approached them with even steps.

“H-hey, back off man!” Skull warned.

Crow merely smirked as he came face to face with Joker.

“Take me to my shadow, will you?” He requested.

“Well…” Noir started. “We don’t actually know where exactly he is…”

“Hold that thought, Noir.” Fox interrupted. “It seems a search will not be necessary.”

The thieves turned to see Akechi standing before them.  _ The Director _ stood behind him.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you here.” Akechi said coldly. Crow merely scoffed in response.

“Last chance to hand over the treasure, or we take it by force, asshole!” Skull warned.

Akechi’s shadow wouldn’t break eye contact with Crow.

“Why do you look like that?” He questioned.

“I could ask you the same.” Crow growled back.

“Who’s side are you on here?” Akechi asked. Crow didn’t answer, only pulled out his gun, pointing it directly at his shadow. Joker grabbed his arm and yanked his aim towards the sky as Crow pulled the trigger.

“The hell was that for?!” He snapped.

“You should know better than anyone! Killing a shadow kills the actual person!” Joker scolded. Crow laughed in his face. 

“Don’t fuck up my aim next time!” He attempted his shot again, but Fox and Queen wrestled the gun out of his hand.

“We’re here to save you, Akechi! Don’t make this all for nothing!” Panther shouted desperately. Crow glared at her.

“Is this what you are after?” Akechi’s shadow plucked the jewel from his crown, and held it up.

“The...the treasure!” Mona shouted excitedly. 

Akechi placed the jewel back into the crown, and glanced back at Shido.

“I can’t let you take this.” He said, a look of fear on his face. “If you take this...the show...will be...over” He spoke, strained. 

Shido violently gripped Akechi’s back, causing him to sharply gasp in pain.

“And I don’t want…” Shido and Akechi spoke in unison. “...the show to be over.” Akechi smiled through his grimace. 

“Look out! He’s about to transform!” Queen warned, the thieves bracing themselves.

Akechi’s shadow cried out in agony as he and Cognitive Shido were engulfed in darkness, darkness that melted away like tar to reveal a horrific sight. Akechi’s shadow had assumed the appearance of a puppet, wielded by cognitive Shido.

“That rat  _ bastard!”  _ Skull shouted, readying his weapon. 

Crow stared motionless. This was the true form of his desires. Did he know deep down he was nothing but a puppet? No...he had to know he was the one on top in the end...right?

“Let’s do this!” 

Crow confusedly watched as the thieves targeted not his shadow, but rather cognitive Shido. Wasn’t the goal to defeat his shadow? Wouldn’t they live for the opportunity to beat him senseless for what he had done?

He watched as they struggled to both resist Akechi’s attacks, and fight against Shido. He felt helpless. Why.  _ Why  _ did they give a  _ rat’s ass  _ if they hurt his shadow. Why didn’t they let him off himself? Why?  _ Why? WHY?! _

He felt a tear drop down his cheek.  _ The hell?  _ He furiously rubbed it off, his emotions consuming him.  _ Was he really going to just sit here and cry? How pathetic.  _

He stumbled to his feet weakly, unsheathing his saber. 

“Joker.” He spoke with a low growl in his voice. Joker looked at him in surprise. “Sorry you have to see this.” His clothes burned away, revealing his true outfit, as the black mask. He broke into a fit of laughter, tears rolling down his face. “COME!” He commanded. “LOKI!”

Loki materialized behind him, spreading red black and blue sparks across the battlefield. 

“Now or never. Let’s do this Loki!” He fell into a red haze, losing grip of his mind. Making himself go psychotic was probably one of the worse ideas he’d had, but it was too late to think now that he’d surrendered his mind.

“GO TO HELL YOU BASTARD!” He rushed towards Shido at full speed, slashing through his puppet self’s strings, and slicing through cognitive Shido strike after strike. He was lost in pure unadulterated desire and rage, unloading all of his ammo into Shido’s chest.

“YOU DON’T DESERVE TO LIVE! DON’T YOU EVER BREATHE IN FRONT OF ME AGAIN YOU-” He had knocked Shido to his knees, still slashing and kicking and screaming. “YOU SORRY EXCUSE FOR A BLOODLINE! YOU MISOGYNISTIC PRICK! YOU...YOU…” He reared his saber above his head. “BASTARD!!!!!” He plunged the saber directly into the cognitive Shido’s chest. He dispersed into a cloud of black, and Crow collapsed to the ground, panting. 

“You…” He heard Joker start from behind him. That was a lot of backstory to take in at once.

“I’ll explain later.” Crow sighed. He looked over to his shadow, who was staring in awe at him. Crow reached out his hand. “That’s enough. Give me the treasure.” He commanded. His shadow shakily took his hand, before dissolving into a flurry of light, leaving the small jewel behind in Akechi’s palm.

“Hmph.” The ground shook beneath him.

“The palace is collapsing! Let’s get going!” The thieves hopped into the Mona bus, Joker hanging back, staring at Akechi. 

“Crow, come on!” He called. Crow didn’t answer. As debris began raining onto them, he ran and picked Akechi up, carrying him and hastily jumping into the bus. 

Crow passed out as they sped off, and returned to the real world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there will be another chapter after this one! the story is not over yet!


	4. The Curtain Call

“Is he gonna be okay?” Futaba asked nervously.

“He should be.” Morgana explained. “You were pretty exhausted after using your persona in your own palace too.”

“What if he doesn’t wake up before the twentieth?” Haru cautioned.

“I’m sure it will be fine.” Akira was sitting beside Akechi, a hand gently resting on his back.

“Oh, hey Akira! What did the treasure end up being?” Ryuji asked excitedly.

Akira simply shrugged.

“There wasn’t a treasure when we returned. Akechi was holding it...but his palms were empty when we returned.”

“We didn’t drop it...did we?” Haru worried.

“Drop...what?” Akechi groaned, sitting up slightly.

“For real?! He’s awake already?!” Ryuji exclaimed.

“I’ve...been through worse than that.” Akechi sat up weakly.

“We were wondering about your treasure. Usually when we return with a treasure, it changes to the object their desires stemmed from.” Makoto explained.

“Oh...I have it…” he pulled a folded piece of paper out of his pocket. “...Oh.” he stared sorrowfully at it.

“What is it?” Ann prodded. 

“It’s…” he ran his thumb over the familiar paper, before sticking it back into his pocket. “It’s a note from someone important to me. Don’t worry about it. There’s more important things to discuss right now.” He stood up straight, and bowed deeply to the thieves. “I know this...isn’t going to make up for all I’ve done...and I know you probably don’t want to work with me anymore…” He stood back up. “But, please take my sincerest apologies. I want to continue working with the phantom thieves.” He paused. “I don’t know If I…” He couldn’t make eye contact with anyone in the room. “To put it simply, those who outlive their usefulness to Shido will…” He cleared his throat. “If I am to cease working with Shido...I might cease to...live.”

An uncomfortable silence filled the room. The tension was so thick he’d swear he could cut it.

“I’m sorry to put this on all of you...but if I am to cancel the plan, I believe that could put me in great  _ danger. _ ”

“Then we’ll come up with a new plan.” Akira said, accepting the situation immediately, much to the surprise of the other thieves. “But...I think we should discuss something  _ else  _ first.” Everyone in the room knew what he was referring to.

“Right. I figured this would come up.” He sat back down, and readied himself. “Yes, I am the black mask. The one behind the mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns. The power to make people go psychotic, it’s a unique ability to my  _ first _ persona, Loki. I had awakened to Robin Hood later on.” He loosened his tie as he spoke. 

“I had approached Shido and offered him use of my powers. Because...well…” He gripped his knees tightly. “Masayoshi Shido is my father. He abandoned my mother to care for me on her own...but it was too much for her.  _ I was too much for her... _ so she killed herself.” His voice was shaking. Akira placed a hand on his shoulder for comfort.

“I wanted to punish him for what he had done...so I thought...if I could be the key player in his rise to the top...he would be  _ destroyed _ by finding out that  _ I  _ was his  _ bastard child.”  _ He shook his head. “I was a fool. Blinded by hatred and knowing nothing but bitterness. I didn’t care what it took...I merely wanted to see Masayoshi Shido on his knees…” He looked up at Futaba. “Of course, this merely explains my actions, it far from excuses them.” He looked to Haru. “Okumura-san...Sakura-san...you have no reason to forgive me especially...but...I hope you’ll find it in your hearts to at the very least, tolerate my presence. I want to help undo this. I want to do something right for once.”

The room was dead silent. All eyes were either on Akechi or the floor. Haru was the first to speak up.

“You’re right, Akechi-kun. I can’t forgive what you’ve done to my father.” She began. “But even more so...I cannot forgive Shido for having you do such a thing!” She stood up in aggravation. “Shido has hurt so many of us! Everyone here has had a chance as a phantom thief to change the heart of the ones who have hurt them, so why should you be any different?” She swallowed hard, and sat back down. “Apologies. I got carried away.”

“I...I’m with Haru!” Futaba shouted. “The phantom thieves changed my life for the better so...maybe we can change yours too! She brought her knees to her chest and clutched her legs nervously. “They treated you like a tool...and...they treated me like one too!” She was tearing up as she spoke. “Let’s both take back our lives! T-together!” She buried her face in her lap, refusing any sort of eye contact.

“I…” Akechi was staring in awe. “I don’t deserve this sort of kindness from you.” He brought a hand to his face, hiding both a tear and a thoughtful smile. “I won’t squander this opportunity. I...I’m thankful.” He bowed once again.

“Welcome to the team, Akechi. For real this time.” Ann cheered.

“Could you…” He hesitated. “Could you call me Goro?”

The thieves exchanged a few wondering glances before their leader spoke up.

“Welcome to the team, Goro.” He gave him a gentle smile.

“Oracle, what’s the status?” Joker demanded.

“They’re swarming, just as expected! Do you have the treasure?” She answered, scrolling through her screens.

Queen held up a briefcase. “Here it is.”

“It’s now or never.” Crow positioned himself beside Joker. “Let’s make them believe it, Joker!” They nodded at each other, the rest of the thieves split off into their own routes.

Crow and Joker sped off, Joker slightly ahead of him. They could hear some police voices from around the corner. 

“Through there!” Crow stage whispered just loud enough for the guard to hear.

The two of them darted through hallways and swung around corners, alerting guards of their presence at carefully calculated moments.

They cornered themselves in a hall, four policemen surrounding them.

“Looks like we’re out of options…” Crow sighed.

“Not quite.” Joker grabbed Crow, and used his grappling hook to pull them to a higher level.

They ran across ceiling fixtures, and found themselves cornered once again at the top of a balcony.

“You’ve got nowhere to run! Give it up!” One of the officers shouted.

“Alright! We surrender! Don’t shoot!” Crow threw his hands up. 

“Like hell we do! Crow, follow my lead!” Joker shouted back before diving through the stained glass window. Crow hesitated before positioning himself and jumping out to follow.

Joker rolled elegantly across the concrete, and Crow landed soon after, a bit clumsily. 

The lights turned on, blinding the two of them. They knew there would be an ambush waiting for them. 

Joker dashed to the right, Crow stayed put. Climbing a fire escape ladder, Joker almost thought he was going to be able to evade arrest entirely, until he had the back of a gun smashed into his cheekbone. 

He landed hard on the concrete, and watched Crow stand over him, a smug look over his face. 

“You have the right to remain silent.” He scoffed before nodding to the officer.

“Suspect confirmed, cuff him!”

“Wake him up!” Cold water was thrown into his face, Akira choked for a moment as he awoke.

He couldn’t make sense of his surroundings. A cold, concrete room, dark. There were empty syringes on the floor. He didn’t like that. 

“No dozing off.” The man before him commanded. He tried to move his arms defensively, but found his wrists still cuffed tightly behind the chair. He wrestled a bit, before finding he could barely move from where he was without pain shooting through his body. “You still don’t get it, do you?”

Akira looked up at him, eyes shaking unfocused. “Give it up!” The man shouted, landing a kick to his side. He was thrown from the chair, sliding across the concrete floor, choking as pain overwhelmed his entire body and the metal cuffs tore into his skin.

“Come on, cooperate.” The man dug his heel sharply into Akira’s temple. “Or do you want another shot?” His shaky gaze fell to the security camera trained onto him.

“Huh? What about the camera?” The man removed his heel, kneeling down to Akira and yanking his head up by his hair. “You think it can be used as evidence?”

“O-of course not.” Akira said despairingly. 

“So you’re not that dumb.” He chuckled lightly. “Which is good, cause we can take all the time we need!” He slammed Akira’s head into the floor, his vision flashing dark and ears ringing. The man landed a hard kick to Akira’s stomach before he even got the chance to process the first assault. He coughed as he felt blood pool in his throat.

His thoughts scrambled as the man began reading off a list of crimes from a clipboard. He couldn’t make sense of the situation, unable to rationalize anything happening to him. 

“You seemed to enjoy every second of it, huh?” He wasn’t even sure what the man was referring to anymore.

Suddenly, the cuffs were pulled off of him and he was thrown into a sitting position. Tears rolled down his face as he rubbed the wounds. A clipboard was thrown into his face, and he was demanded to sign it.

He complied immediately, overwhelmed with fear. Hand shaking he scrawled  _ ‘Akira Kurusu’  _ onto the paper. 

“Don’t expect to come out of here in one piece. We’re going to make you understand one must take full responsibility for their actions.”

Akechi’s heart was pounding in his chest as he walked the corridor. The lengthy hall gave him way too much time to think, as if the entire night wasn’t enough.

He passed Sae on his way, offering a few formalities and explanations, all the while cold sweat forming under his bangs.

They had one shot at this plan, but Akechi had to make it work. For everyone’s sake.

He passed the guard, entering the room quietly, sighing a shaky breath before looking at Akira.

“Dear god…” Akechi’s hand reflexively covered his mouth. “What the hell did they do to you?” He ran over and grabbed Akira’s wrist gently, examining the red sores that now circled it.

“I…” Akira began. “I complied with them like you said. But…” 

Akechi scowled, and stood up in anger and revulsion.

“God _ damnit.  _ I swear those cops don’t think they can get anything done without-” Akira interrupted by clearing his throat. “Right.” Akechi huffed while fishing his phone from his pocket. “Shall we?” 

“I’m still worried...what if we gave him the perfect opportunity to catch us while our guard was down?” Haru tapped her fingers together nervously.

“We changed his heart, right? His palace fell before our own eyes. Shouldn’t that be enough to convince us?” Yusuke offered.

“It’s all we can do for now, and if Akira trusts him...then...I guess we should do.” Makoto noted.

“Can’t help but be nervous still though. I mean, this is Akechi we’re talking about.” Ryuji sighed.

“Call him Goro, remember?” Ann nudged Ryuji.

“Yeah yeah.”

“I guess we won’t know until-”

The bell to Leblanc rang followed by Akechi escorting Akira inside.

“Akira-kun!” Haru shouted happily. 

“It’s good to see you both alive.” Ann sighed in relief.

“Alive, but unwell. Unfortunately those cops did quite a number on Akira.” Akechi leaned up against a wall, unconsciously separating himself from the group.

“I’m…” Akira hesitated. “I’m fine. Just a bit sore.” He sat down at a booth and leaned into his hands. “And tired.”

“Goro.” Akira looked toward him. “Thanks.” 

Akechi shifted. “I’m the one who should be thanking you. You’re the ones who changed my heart.” He sighed, and stood up straight. “I should get going.”

“Wait, come here.” Akira stood up. “You’re one of us now, Goro. Come.” 

Akechi hesitated, before sighing and joining the group.

Sojiro prepared the group curry and coffee, before heading home and instructing them to lock up the store and clean before they left. 

Akira had sat next to Akechi, pulling him into conversations, desperately trying to make him feel welcome in the group.

When the thieves began heading home, Akechi was the last one left.

“Why are you doing this?” He spoke strained. 

Akira blinked at him. “What?”

“Why are you being so  _ nice  _ to me? Why can’t you just-” He rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. “You have no reason to want me around and yet…” 

“Because I like you. It’s as simple as that.” Akira rubbed at his wrists absently as he spoke. “I like talking to you and spending time with you. I thought you liked me too.”

Akechi glared sharply with confusion. “Of course I like you!” He groaned. “You infuriate me so much! You’re so skilled and you’re brilliant and you’re mind-numbingly kind to those who don’t deserve it! Why?!” Akechi bit down on his lip as he held back tears. 

Akira said nothing, only leaned in and hugged Akechi. 

He hesitated a moment. Barely processing what was happening, Akechi raised his arms and returned the hug slowly.

“You deserve kindness. You deserve the kindness you’ve never been given in your life. Nobody gets better without a loving force in their life to support them.” He pulled back slowly. “Don’t ever question whether you deserve to be happy.”

Akechi sniffled, and fished a paper out of his pocket. He sighed as he passed it to Akira.

“It’s my treasure. From my palace? I...didn’t want to show anyone because…” His eyes were glued to the ground. “It’s my mother’s suicide note.” He didn’t say anything else.

“I don’t…” Akira passed the note back to Akechi. “I don’t need to read this. It’s okay. It’s personal to you.”

“But if that’s where my disto-”

“I don’t need you to prove anything to me. It’s okay. I believe what you told me.”

Akechi put the note into his pocket.

“I should get going. The trains will be stopping soon.”

Akira nodded.

“...Thanks. For everything.”


	5. The Epilogue

Akechi spent about twenty minutes of the next morning staring at the ceiling of his apartment. So much had happened to him. Part of him wanted to sleep for weeks, but the grander whole of him wouldn’t bare to stay put that long.

His train of thought was interrupted by his phone buzzing loudly against the wooden table beside him. He leaned over, expecting to see a message from Shido or one of his men about a target that he’d have to take care of.

_ ‘Hey, is everyone still up for the meeting today?’ _

Makoto? Why was she texting him?

_ Yusuke: It’s best if we get it done sooner rather than later. _

_ Ann: I agree. _

_ Futaba: I’m available! _

_ Ryuji: You’re always available Futaba. _

_ Futaba: Well what if I just HAPPENED to be busy today! _

_ Haru: I may be a bit late but I’ll be there. _

Oh. It was the phantom thieves group chat. He’d forgotten about it.

_ Akira: I’ll be there. _

_ Ryuji: Again, you live there. _

_ Futaba: Well what if he was somewhere else right now? _

_ Ryuji: I wasn’t talking to you! _

_ Makoto: That’s everyone but Goro.  _

_ Makoto: Will you have time to join us? _

His heart dropped. For some reason he hadn’t expected to actually be invited to a phantom thieves meeting. He expected to be dropped from the team immediately after the mission.

_ Goro: I’ll be there. _

When he entered the cafe, all of the thieves had already arrived and gotten comfortable. He hugged the wall as he entered, until Akira waved him over to sit next to him. The invitation was all he needed.

“Alright! Everyone’s here!” Ryuji cheered.

“First order of business.” Makoto started. “Goro, what did you tell Shido?”

Akechi flinched a moment before composing himself. “I told him the plan was a success. As far as he’s concerned, Akira Kurusu is dead.” 

“So the next step is changing Shido’s heart, right?” Haru suggested.

The team exchanged nods. Akechi remained still.

“Something wrong, Goro?” Akira nudged him.

“We’re really going to change his heart?” He replied in disbelief. 

“Yeah, we’re  _ changing his heart. _ Don’t try anything else.” Ryuji spat. Ann elbowed him hard. 

“Of course not. I’d rather see that bastard rot in prison for the rest of his life than remembered fondly in a casket.” There was a bite behind every word Akechi spoke, and he glared sharply at the floor.

“Then we all have the same idea.” Yusuke nodded.

As the phantom thieves deliberated keywords and plans, Akechi found himself oddly at peace. He felt like he actually belonged. He was invited here instead of blackmailing his way into the group. He was handed the opportunity to turn everything around by the people sitting around him.

He felt Akira’s arm lay across the back of the booth.

Akira offered him a smile, and Akechi nervously scooted a bit closer to him, hoping the other thieves wouldn’t notice.

If this was what having teammates felt like, he figured he could actually get pretty used to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap! I hope you had as much fun reading it as I had writing it. 
> 
> Thanks for everyone that offered support! I really appreciate it!


End file.
